Christmas Gifts and Mistletoe
by marshallsaredead
Summary: At that moment, he gave her the best Christmas gift she could get, right under the mistletoe. CRANNY


Title: Christmas Gifts and Mistletoe

Author: Marshallsaredead

Summary: At that moment, he gave her the best Christmas gift she could get, right under the mistletoe.

FYI: This story may be a bit confusing and all but I hope you like it anyways. I also request that you review to this story; otherwise I will think I wasted my time doing this. Enjoy!

**Christmas Gifts and Mistletoe**

"Merry Christmas, Manny," Craig said, trying to be cheerful on this day to be cheery.

Joey, Angie, and he went over the Simpson-Nelson residence to celebrate Christmas together. Craig was a bit hesitant on going because he knew he would run into Manny; they broke up quite recently.

Following their breakup, one of Manny's best friends, JT had died and Manny blamed herself for the death. It was at a party she threw herself to get over Craig, and she felt responsible for her friend's death. Manny would come out of her room for days and wouldn't even eat. She lost many pounds and looked scrawnier.

When Craig saw her, Manny looked very thin. She had no makeup on and had her hair tied up in a messy bun. She was wearing jeans that now looked baggy and a loosed, black sweater. She even had dark circles under her eyes. Though she looked like a mess, Craig still felt that she looked beautiful.

"You look great," Craig complimented. Manny let out a weak smile. She nodded.

"Thank you," she said. She knew Craig was just lying or at least she thought so. She was aware that she looked horrible and unhealthy. For days, she wouldn't even speak to anyone but she thought that Craig was at least worth talking to. She loved him, after all.

"I know things are hard for you these days," Craig said. He would do anything for Manny to speak –not to him in particular, but to just smile and be normal again. Manny was shutting herself out to the people who cared most about her and she wasn't doing any good. This most certainly wasn't going to help her with things.

"You really loved him, didn't you?" Craig asked. He knew 'loved' was the perfect word to use in the situation. After all, JT was friends with Manny ever since she was a little girl; they both shared and made memories together. But now all those memories were darkened over his death.

Manny simply nodded. She just hoped that Craig could understand how she was feeling. She felt helpless, suddenly all the things that were worth living for seemed …worthless.

"I know how you feel," Craig said. His mother died when he was young as well as his father. He thought he would never be able to get over his parents deaths, but he was proven wrong. He realized that he still had friends and that there would still be people who could love him. Maybe they wouldn't love him as much as his parents did, but they would care about him at least.

"He was my friend," Manny said in an almost-whisper voice. She felt herself about to cry and then a few minutes later, she did.

"I miss him," she sobbed into Craig's shoulder. Craig stroked her hair and whispered in her ear.

"He wouldn't want you to cry about it like this," he said. Craig used to be in the same position Manny. He knew that sometimes you just needed a shoulder to cry on and nothing else.

Manny forced herself to stop crying. She looked deep into Craig's eyes and he looked back. They were both alone and no one was there to watch them.

She looked at the ceiling and realized that there was mistletoe over their heads. "Mistletoe," she pointed to Craig.

Craig looked up as well and smiled. "You know what they say about mistletoe, right?"

Manny looked at him puzzled. "I don't think they say anything"

"Exactly," Craig said. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed Manny soft and tender. At that moment, he gave her the best Christmas gift she could get, right under the mistletoe.

"I love you," Manny said. "And I need you right now"

"And I'm here for you, Manny," Craig said, smiling down at her. "Always"

"Merry Christmas, Craig," Manny said, actually smiling for the first time that felt like years later.

"Let's go eat something with the rest of the family," Craig said, leading her into the dining room. He wrapped his arm around her, warming her up. He too, had gotten a gift that he was thankful for.

Craig had gotten another chance to be with the girl he loved; and he was going to take it.


End file.
